Tigers
by auraspirit157
Summary: Ajay runs into a tiger...


**Tigers**

By now Ajay was used to hunting in the wilds of Kyrat. It was almost a calming experience by now. Throw bait, hide in a bush, and shoot whatever nasty predator decided to come.

Right now he was hunting tigers.

They were becoming an issue around one of the outposts Ajay honestly couldn't remember the name of. One of the Golden Path members insisted he took care of the problem. Like there was nothing better for him to do. Like stopping tyrannical dictators.

So he conducts his usual hunting activities, gaining a few more scars in the process. Tigers generally went down with three well placed arrows. He usually got two free shots while they were distracted. He tosses some bait from the foliage he hides in, waiting, listening for the growls of the striped predators.

Soon one appeared, prowling out from behind the trees and inching to the bait. It outright sprints, gnawing at the meat like it hadn't eaten in days. Ajay watches it carefully, taking an arrow and pulling it back carefully. The familiar stretch of the string creaking quietly as he takes a breath.

Movement at the corner of his eyes makes him stop. He glances to the side, the familiar dark hooded uniform peeking through the foliage. One of the Royal Army's hunters. And his eyes were on the same tiger.

Ajay remembers all the grief the bow-wielding assholes caused him. They were nearly impossible to keep track of and the amount of times he had to pull their arrows out of him was far too large. His eyes narrow, already recalculating, attention completely deviating from the tiger. No way was he letting him get this kill. The hunter pulls back an arrow, one with a distinct green color. They could control animals with a certain drug. That's something the Kyrat-American did _not_ want to deal with anytime soon.

The hunter focuses on the tiger, but Ajay is already dropping his bow, dragging him out of the bushes just as he lets loose the arrow. He stabs him quick in the throat, blood splattering up his arm. He had thrown off the hunter's aim, but now he had to deal with the tiger.

Just as he turns, he sucks in a breath, catching the wrist of a second hunter he hadn't seen. A machete hovers just an inch from his throat.

"Ghale." the masked hunter growls, working against Ajay's strength, "Killing you would be a story to tell."

Ajay grinds his teeth, wishing he could reach his gun, "Too bad you're not killing me then."

The other man kicks him hard and suddenly in the stomach, shoving him on the ground. Ajay immediately unsheathes his knife to defend.

But the hunter is gone, outright tackled by the tiger.

He watches as the hunter screams, though the animal silences him soon, snapping jaws around the hunter's throat. It rips away the flesh and digs its claws into his chest, blood and shreds of skin flying about.

It was completely disgusting. But such things didn't faze Ajay anymore.

The tiger steps away, shaking fur out, slowly turning toward him. Ajay carefully crawls backward, hitting a tree, hand searching for his bow in the grass. Moving too suddenly would startle it. If it lunged he could use his knife, but wouldn't get out of it uninjured.

His hand wraps around the bow's grip just as the tiger hums it's breath in front of him. She was a younger one, probably just learning to go out on her own. Just one movement was all he needed.

But the predator's eyes leave him, locking on a bag at his waist. She waits, watches him.

Confused, Ajay touches the bag, realizing it's the one that holds his bait. Slowly, with methodical movement, he opens the bag, pulling out a chunk of meat. He carefully holds it out, "This is what you want? Huh-" He cried out, the tiger snatching the meat violently from him.

She runs off to the side, throwing her new meal on the ground and gnawing on it. He grips his hand, his brown climbing glove ripped open and teeth wounds deep in his flesh. Hissing, he removes the remains of his gloves, glancing up at the tiger. She tore at the meat, spitting out the bones and picking them clean.

Focusing back on his wound, he flips open a wallet and takes out a syringe. It was disturbing how many he had to carry around. He stabs himself with it in the arm, immediately feeling a numbing relief. The tiger makes its presence known again, moving to him. He quickly snatches the bow, ignoring the stinging in his hand as he yanks back an arrow. The predator stares him down steadily.

She slowly sits down, purring quietly and slinking forward. Her entire stance is relaxed, crawling by Ajay's side and sniffing his injured hand.

"Uh...no...No get away." Ajay kicks back, adjusting the bow and point the arrow back at her. He winces a bit, feeling the blood run between his fingers. The tiger simply tilts her head, as if his defense was confusing.

"Just...go away, alright? You want more food?" he gently loosens the arrow, setting the bow down and taking out more bait, throwing it off into the bushes.

The tiger's head whips around, chasing after the meat. Ajay scrambles up, keeping the bow in his hand as he hurries away. It was odd. Tigers never hesitated; they attacked practically anything that moved. But this one hesitated.

He breaks onto the cliff side, pausing by it and looking out at the entirety of southern Kyrat. Definitely not the strangest thing he's experienced, but up there. He drops his arms, sighing softly.

A strange feeling in his hand makes him look down, startled by the sight. The tiger had returned, licking the blood of his hand gently. He steps away, holding his hand again, but the tiger remains, staring at him and sitting down.

Ajay huffs, getting irritated, "Why are you following me?" he asks uselessly knowing the beast had no idea what he was saying.

To his surprise, however, the tiger rises and jerks her head towards the trees they emerged from. She circles Ajay, butting her head against the bow on his back, then looks at the trees again.

"You…what happened back there?" Ajay looks back at the trees as well, quickly realizing, "I saved you, right? That's why you're following me?"

She nods, purring softly and seeming to smile, curling around his legs.

This was actually happening. A creature that would normally love to tear him to ribbons now was as dormant as a house cat around him. The young man slowly reaches down, letting his uninjured hand glide along the tiger's back as she circles him. She pauses, looking up at him with quiet eyes, then sits, bowing head just below his hovering fingers. With a bit of hesitation, he gently strokes the striped fur of the animal's head. She doesn't retract.

"You're pretty tame for a tiger." He mutters to himself, letting his hand drop from her head. He turns away, looking down at a stream just below the cliff. He needed to deal with his injury. For once he had the opportunity to do so properly, rather than haphazardly tightening bandages with his teeth while he shoots his adversaries.

Unlatching the grapple from his waist, he kinks it into the rocks and lowers himself down to the stream below. The mountain water ran quickly down the sloped grassy plain, chilled to a cool temperature. He sits by the rapids, tilting the bulk of his injury under the liquid snow. It was dyed red soon enough. The feeling was refreshing, and he was relieved to realize the water was far too shallow for demon fish to swim.

As he pulls his hand from the waters and starts to dress it, he hears a gentle lapping beside him. From the corner of his eye, he sees the very same tiger drinking from the stream.

Ajay stares for a moment, tapping the bandages down, "Are you a ninja too?"

She looks up from the water, eyes flashing in what the man could only describe as a playful way, running over and tackling him right to the ground.

He grunts, putting his hands up as the animal licks his face. Her paws push against his chest, staring down at him. Ajay's confused eyes lock with hers, finally releasing a breath of surprise. In response, she slowly yawns, large teeth and tongue inches from his face before jumping off and plopping on the ground, closing her eyes.

Ajay continues to stare at the sky as if the tiger remained, dreading the soreness in his ribs when he decides to rise. Distantly he hears voices, though he pretends they're not there right now. The clouds drift by above him, normal, not murderous at all.

From the corner of his eye he sees the tiger's head snap up. She growls as the voices grow louder, rising to her feet. Soon the sounds stop, questions then a yell breaks through the trees: "Tiger!"

A shower of bullets explodes from just beyond his sight, the tiger yelping and running off into the foliage. Ajay bolt upright as two Golden Path members charge through the leaves, assault rifles in hand, looking around for the predator.

"It ran in the bushes!" one, a young woman, yells as she point at the leaves.

The words leave Ajay's lips before he can stop them, "Wait!" he scrambles up, hurrying in from of them and raising his hands, "Don't shoot."

Both members stare at him like he's crazy, lowering guns. The male speaks first, "Are you insane Ajay? Those beasts kill us everyday!"

"I know, I know but she's- this one at least- she's not that bad. She helped me out." Ajay speaks calmly, hearing the creature move behind him. He glances down, the tiger slinking out from the leaves, growling and curling around his legs.

"She is not friendly!" The woman says, aiming at tiger again, "She'll kill you!"

"Look, I know it looks bad but-" Ajay starts, then looks down at the tiger, gently touching her head, whispering, "It's okay, alright? They're friends, relax."

To his surprise once again, the predator relaxes, though her eyes are still intense, grunting and sitting by Ajay. The two Golden Path members stare; dumbfounded. They exchange looks then completely lower guns, the male laughing a little, "She likes you. Bet she'll be helpful in fights huh?"

The thought of charging into battle with a tiger was incredibly badass, but Ajay shakes his head, "No...no I'm hoping she just moves on after a while."

The woman laughs quietly, "Yeah uh, good luck with that Ajay." she chuckles, obviously not confident in his ability to do so. She soon leaves with the other man, leaving him alone with the tiger.

He sighs, looking down, meeting the eyes of the creature, "So are you going to stick around?"

She stares back in response, licking her paws. Ajay shakes his head, looking off into the trees, listening to the stream and watching the late afternoon light shine through the leaves.

After a pause he speaks again, "Maybe I should give you a name, right?" He kneels down, fluffing the hair on the tiger's head, "...Lakshmana."

The tiger lifts head at the sound of the name, seeming to smile. It felt weird naming her after a name Ajay had yet to completely understand, but it reminded him of what was important. Bringing his mother's ashes to Lakshmana.

He heads toward the road, hands in his pockets, sensing the predator following silently, wondering how in the world this was going to work out.


End file.
